Boston Celtics guard details new sneaker deal amid breakout season (2025)

NEW YORK — As Payton Pritchard enjoys a breakout season as the frontrunner for the Sixth Man of the Year award, he also picked up a new off-court sponsorship. Converse announced that Pritchard is the latest NBA player to sign with the company.

Pritchard revealed there were at least a few options when it came to his next sneaker deal. Ultimately, he landed on the Boston-based Converse as the company’s basketball signees include MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Kelly Oubre Jr.

“There was a lot of companies,” Pritchard said ahead of the Celtics’ game against the Knicks on Tuesday. “A lot of people put their offers out. Ultimately, Converse’s offer and what everything with it was I thought was the best decision for myself. ... Converse I feel like appealed to me in the lifestyle stuff.”

Pritchard will wear Converse’s All Star BB Trilliant CX for the rest of the season. He also gets to go back to a familiar brand: Converse has been owned by Nike for more than two decades. Pritchard played at Oregon in college with the school’s heavy ties to Nike courtesy of co-founder Phil Knight. So now he gets to be back under the umbrella, though with Converse.

Pritchard has emerged as a key weapon off the Celtics bench this season. He’s averaging 14.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 76 games this season. While it’s taken time for Pritchard to be a consistent bench threat, that’s come to fruition this season. It also doesn’t hurt that Pritchard and the C’s are coming off the 2024 NBA championship, either.

Now, the new deal also means Pritchard will no longer wear Jaylen Brown’s signature sneaker. Brown released his 741 Performance shoes earlier this season. Instead of signing a traditional sneaker deal like his teammates, Brown chose to go his own route and make his own product. Pritchard wore Brown’s sneakers in games this season and said it’s a great basketball shoe. It’s just that Pritchard will wear his new Converse shoes throughout the playoffs.

“Once you tell him the money situation and stuff like that, he’s going to have to understand it a little bit more,” Pritchard said. “I’m not in a position like JB is where we’re not making as much money as that man. It’s a little bit different. He wasn’t heartbroken. I’m still going to be always supportive of his brand and I hope that takes off.”